Haiyan's death toll now over 5,200

Over 4 million survivors begin to rebuild their lives

November 22, 2013

The death toll from super typhoon Haiyan, which smashed into the Philippines two weeks ago, has passed 5,200, an official said Friday.

The Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday the death toll from Haiyan has spiked to 5,209.

Along with the number dead, the NDRRMC said 23,404 people were injured and 1,592 people are missing, the Philippines News Agency reported.

Officials said the death toll could increase as bodies are uncovered through the recovery process, after the storm destroyed homes and caused flooding when it made landfall nov. 7, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the NDRRMC, said more than 4 million people were displaced by the storm.

Over a million houses were damaged.

Many residents in the worst hit areas are still without proper shelter as they try to rebuild their homes.

Major Renaldo Balido, when asked how the relief effort was going said, “We have been doing better. We are starting to reach all the people in need, especially in Samar,” referring to one of the worst affected islands.

“Right now we are on our third round of distributing relief,” he added.

The storm has damaged millions of dollars worth of crops and infrastructure, destroyed a million homes, and affected more than 10 million people. Some 4.3 million people were said to have been displaced, a million of whom were children.

The total cost of the damage is pegged at more than $288 million, according to the NDRRMC. Around $112 million of this was damage to crops and $100 million damage to livestock and fisheries.

The U.S. is just one of around two dozen governments who have sent aid to the Philippines.